Rabbi’s Message – December 22, 2022
“If Chanukkah is eight nights, why does the menorah have 9 candles?” I’m frequently asked variations of this question around Chanukkah. From the standpoint of Jewish law, on holidays like the start of Sukkot or Passover, you’ll typically find a long-lasting candle lit in order to light other flames from – since one can’t start a fire, but can “transfer” it to another source. You might think that’s why we light the shamash, the helper candle, on Chanukkah; but there is no prohibition against creative work on this holiday (remember, it is a rather minor festival in our calendar), so there would be no issue with lighting all the candles from a match as there would on the second day of the major festivals. Which begs the question that stemming from a time when oil (and later candles) were expensive, why would we create a tradition that “wastes” perfectly good oil/wax for an “unnecessary” helper candle? Like most Jewish traditions, there are a few explanations, some more practical, others more spiritual and none mutually exclusive.
OPTION 1: Inclusion
One rationale I’ve seen comes from the fact that one is not supposed to use the Chanukkah menorah for its light – no bedtime reading by the menorah-light! And so, since oil was so expensive, and the light of the menorah, especially by the latter nights, would be quite useful, the helper candle was established, which is not technically part of the mitzvah of lighting the menorah, and thus created a loophole to utilize its light for mundane tasks. For those with tight budgets, they wouldn’t have to choose between lighting the menorah and being able to function after dark.
OPTION 2: Sharing our Light
I use this explanation with children, based on the fact that a candle that shares its light loses none of its own. If I had a bag of gelt, and I shared it with a group of eight people, I’d have a lot less gelt to eat myself. If I had a lit candle, and I lit candles that eight friends were holding, my candle wouldn’t lose any light, the room would just be brighter. That is the purpose of the shamash – to remind us to share our light, warmth, and love with the world at little to no personal cost. The mundane shamash allows another mitzvah to come to fruition, may our actions to bring good to the world.
OPTION 3: The Long Pole
Without going into a ton of detail, in Temple-times there was a paradox in that the Temple Menorah (the 7-branched one) could be lit by anyone – priest or commoner, but was located in an area of the Temple where only priests could be. There’s an ancient tradition that commoners could light the Temple Menorah by using a ‘long pole’ from the area they could be to extend into the area with the menorah. Rabbi Paul Kipnes points out with this teaching that those without the sanctity of the priesthood could ‘reach’ themselves to a higher spiritual plane in this manner, and likewise, the shamash candle, resembling a long pole, allows a mundane candle to ascend and perform a mitzvah – a reminder that we too should be striving to ascend and grow in holiness and spirituality.
As the number of candles increase each night, we see the lights shine a bit brighter. Whichever explanation above you prefer, or others that you may know or think for yourself, may your Chanukkah be full of light, warmth, and love and may you be surrounded with opportunities to share that with the world.